Chapter 17: Mutual Pursuit
Xie Bailu was fuming. She was spending time and effort killing the Absolute Demon, while Ling Song was watching the show like a noble young master. She looked at Ling Song and suddenly said with righteous indignation, “Young Master Ling, I think this Absolute Demon looks down on you!”
Ling Song raised an eyebrow. “Oh? How so?”
Xie Bailu said, “It’s because it doesn’t take you seriously that it ignores you, because in its eyes, you are no threat.”
Ling Song looked as if he had a sudden realization. “Is that so.”
And then there was no other reaction.
Seeing his expression, Xie Bailu knew he hadn’t fallen for it. Speaking of which, perhaps because he could kill anyone who provoked him, he didn’t seem to get angry over trivial matters.
Back in the evil array, when the evil cultivator had threatened Ling Song with the Five-Star Cauldron, he had clearly chased her all this way for it, but at that time, he had seemed indifferent, completely unfazed by the threat, and she had been the one to benefit in the end.
At least in these matters, she felt she should learn from him: don’t let things get to you, just make trouble for others.
But the premise of all this was to have a cultivation level to rely on.
The play was halfway through, and the only audience member was not cooperating. Xie Bailu didn’t want to continue the act. She abruptly changed the subject. “Young Master Ling, how are your preparations for setting the fire?”
Although setting a fire was just her initial excuse to separate, it was indeed worth a try.
Ordinary methods couldn’t kill the Absolute Demon, and she didn’t want to waste her efforts endlessly. If she could burn down the Absolute Demon Domain, that would be great.
Ling Song said, “There’s a fireworks shop over there. It might be of use.”
Xie Bailu was speechless. “…?” She had only found some wine, but he had found a weapon of mass destruction?
She had been disrespectful. The title of “child of fortune” should be given to him.
Ling Song led the way, and Xie Bailu followed. When they arrived at the fireworks shop and saw it was full of fireworks, she felt it was too wasteful to use them for kindling.
It was a pity that Ling Song had found it first. Otherwise, she would have secretly dug out all the gunpowder inside and made a deadly trap for Ling Song.
The two of them stood outside the fireworks shop. Ling Song said, “Does Miss Xie want to light the fire?”
Xie Bailu asked, “Should we light this shop directly?”
Ling Song turned to look at her. “Do you have another idea?”
Xie Bailu thought to herself, I want you to stand inside and light it, and perish with the whole shop. Would you be willing?
She smiled. “No, then I’ll have to trouble Young Master Ling. I don’t know how.”
The lit fireworks would shoot around and be enough to set fire to the nearby wooden houses. Xie Bailu saw Ling Song take out a tinderbox from somewhere and was about to light the firecracker in his hand.
At that moment, Xie Bailu saw someone walking over in the distance. From the figure, it was neither “her” nor “Ling Song.”
And Ling Song, without needing Xie Bailu’s reminder, stopped and looked at the newcomer.
It was a woman. She paused when she saw Ling Song and Xie Bailu, then hesitated before approaching.
She didn’t get too close, stopping at a distance where both sides could hear each other clearly. “Fellow Daoists, is this the Absolute Demon Domain?”
Her gaze lingered on Ling Song for a moment. When it touched the flamboyant and brilliant red clothes, she seemed to be burned and quickly looked away, as if shrinking back in fear, only staring at Xie Bailu.
Xie Bailu glanced at Ling Song and saw that he had no interest in talking, so she said, “That’s right. My surname is Xie, and this is Young Master Ling Song. You…”
Before Xie Bailu could finish, the woman’s eyes widened. Without even a polite farewell, she turned and ran away.
Xie Bailu was speechless. “…?” This is the Absolute Demon Domain! What are you running for!
Seeing Xie Bailu’s shocked expression, Ling Song couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t care about Xie Bailu’s little schemes and even said with a smile, “Not everyone has Miss Xie’s courage.”
He had naturally seen that Xie Bailu had mentioned his name with the intention of finding an ally to kill him. Did she think that just because she had the courage to kill him here, everyone else would?
Xie Bailu said, “Should I thank Young Master Ling for thinking so highly of me?”
She had thought that with Ling Song’s reputation as a madman, there would be some bold people who would want to take the opportunity to get rid of him. There would never be such a good opportunity as today.
Who would have thought that person would run so fast!
Anyway, Ling Song already knew she wanted to kill him, so Xie Bailu didn’t explain. She suppressed her frustration and said, “At least it proves that person isn’t the Absolute Demon. There are others here besides us.”
The Absolute Demon didn’t seem to know Ling Song’s name. Otherwise, it probably wouldn’t have dared to bring Ling Song in, even if it had ten guts, and it certainly wouldn’t have feigned that kind of reaction.
Seeing that Ling Song was still holding the firecracker and preparing to light it, she said, “Why don’t we not light it for now?”
The city had been silent before, but now a third person had appeared. She suspected that the Absolute Demon, seeing that it couldn’t kill her and Ling Song, had pulled in more innocent people to stir up the situation.
Ling Song looked at Xie Bailu, his long, narrow eyes sparkling with starlight. He suddenly stepped closer to Xie Bailu, stuffed the tinderbox and firecracker into her hand, and said softly, “You light the fire, and I won’t kill you after we leave the domain. How about it?”
Xie Bailu looked at him in surprise, but saw an undisguised, malicious smile on his lips.
Xie Bailu had suggested setting a fire because she thought it was just her and Ling Song in this domain. But now, with an unknown number of people also pulled in at an unknown location, would she be harming the innocent if she set this fire?
Once the fire really started, it would be beyond human control.
And Ling Song, seeing that she cared about those innocent lives, deliberately used this as a bargaining chip to force her to choose.
Would she choose her own life, or disregard herself for them?
Xie Bailu didn’t have to struggle with this choice. She didn’t believe Ling Song’s words. Even if he didn’t kill her personally, he had plenty of ways to get her killed.
She smiled faintly. “How about we change the terms? If Young Master Ling is willing to stand there without moving, I’ll light the fire. How about it?”
She pointed to the fireworks shop.
Ling Song’s eyes were fixed on Xie Bailu. He suddenly burst into laughter, and the superficial image of a noble young master instantly shattered. His flamboyant demeanor, coupled with his unrestrained laughter, made Xie Bailu’s heart jump, and she couldn’t help but take a step back.
Ling Song soon suppressed his laughter, his dangerous gaze falling on Xie Bailu. After a long moment, he said, “Xie Bailu, you’d better never change.”
Always be interesting, always bring me uncontrollable pleasure, and I will let you live.
Xie Bailu didn’t understand what Ling Song meant. What shouldn’t change? In context, was he talking about her cherishing human life? What did that have to do with him? He had never shown any reverence for life.
Xie Bailu couldn’t figure it out, but meeting his murderous gaze, she didn’t dare to ask.
Perhaps the laughter had attracted attention, for two more people approached.
This time it was two male cultivators, wearing similar clothes, probably from the same sect, but not the Teng or Ling family that Xie Bailu had seen before.
Perhaps because there were two of them, they were a little bolder. After they got closer, one of them said, “Fellow Daoists, we are disciples of the Fang family of Hongcheng. My name is Fang Jinxue, and this is my younger brother, Fang Jinlian.”
Seeing that Ling Song still had no intention of talking, and not wanting to scare away this pair of brothers, Xie Bailu said, “Greetings, Fellow Daoist. My name is Xie Huang, and this is someone I just met, Xiao Song. We are both rogue cultivators.”
Ling Song glanced at her but did not refute.
Perhaps because Ling Song’s reputation as a madman was so widespread, no one thought he would disguise himself with a pseudonym. Therefore, even though the two brothers looked at Ling Song’s red clothes with suspicion, they did not suspect that he was the legendary madman Ling Song who loved to wear red.
Fang Jinxue said, “Fellow Daoist Xie, this should be the Absolute Demon Domain. My brother and I were on our way when we were somehow pulled in, and all our spiritual energy is gone. I wonder how much you two know about this place? Perhaps we can work together to deal with the Absolute Demon.”
Xie Bailu said, “The Absolute Demon has no spiritual energy in this domain either. I’ve killed it twice, but it didn’t truly die. It will disguise itself as someone I know to get close and try to kill me. If you two separate and meet again, you must be careful.”
As an ancient demon, the Absolute Demon’s name was widely known. Everyone knew that they would lose all their spiritual energy after entering this domain, but as for how the Absolute Demon killed people, there were only some uncertain speculations. Moreover, different Absolute Demons acted differently.
Therefore, receiving this experience from a pioneer like Xie Bailu, the Fang brothers were very grateful. This was information that could determine life and death. Fang Jinxue said, “Thank you for sharing, Fellow Daoist Xie. We will be careful. Are we going to look for the Absolute Demon next?”
“That’s right,” Xie Bailu said, stuffing the tinderbox and firecracker into the white cloth bag that held the Five-Star Cauldron.
Fang Jinxue said, “Does Fellow Daoist Xie have any clues?”
Xie Bailu said, “No, we have to plan this carefully. Why don’t we discuss it slowly.”
Her idea was simple. First, they would build up some goodwill. Since Ling Song wasn’t talking, all the goodwill would be hers. After they got a little more familiar, if she had any plans to assassinate Ling Song, she would have helpers.
As they were talking, two more people came over. One of them was the woman who had run away earlier. She was following behind a young man in black, her steps hesitant and slow, and she kept looking over here. The young man in black had a stern, expressionless face, and his slightly furrowed brows showed his impatience.
After the man and woman got closer, they stopped at a distance from the Fang brothers. The woman was even farther from the young man in black than he was from the Fang brothers.
Fang Jinxue introduced himself and his brother again, then helped to introduce “Xie Huang” and “Xiao Song.” When he said “Xiao Song,” the woman’s expression changed again and again.
The young man in black remained coolly silent. Fang Jinxue was a little embarrassed. The woman said timidly, “My name is Xiao Cui. I’m just a mortal who grew up in the countryside. This little brother doesn’t seem to be able to speak.”
Xie Bailu was speechless. “…?” Xiao Cui is an obvious fake name. And you say you’re a mortal? Then why did you run just now! You even called me Fellow Daoist!
Xiao Cui’s timid appearance at this moment did indeed resemble a mortal full of fear of the unknown world, if Xie Bailu hadn’t seen her run away at the mention of Ling Song’s name just now.
Meeting Xie Bailu’s gaze, Xiao Cui suddenly gave a fawning smile, as if trying to please her.
Xie Bailu’s mind turned, and she understood Xiao Cui’s meaning. She was showing goodwill. Because she had heard Fang Jinxue call Ling Song “Xiao Song,” Xiao Cui thought Ling Song wanted to hide his identity. Therefore, she deliberately said she was just a mortal. The subtext of this sentence was: See, I even said I’m a country mortal. I couldn’t possibly know who Ling Song is, so of course I won’t expose his identity.
Xie Bailu was speechless. How famous was Ling Song? Why were people so afraid of him even in the Absolute Demon Domain! There were so many of them. If they all attacked him at once, they could have taken him down with human wave tactics!
Fang Jinxue naturally didn’t know Xiao Cui’s subtext. He didn’t show any contempt for Xiao Cui, who claimed to be a mortal, and just said, “To meet is fate. We were all innocently pulled into this place. We should work together to get out.”
But the young man in black, who had been silent all this time, sneered, “Work together?”
He pointed at Ling Song. “He won’t even say that he’s Ling Song. What’s there to talk about working together.”
Ling Song!
Hearing this name, Fang Jinxue and his brother, Fang Jinlian, were stunned. Almost instinctively, the two brothers took a big step back.
Fang Jinlian, who didn’t talk much, frantically gave his brother a look: I told you no one but that madman would wear such a red outfit!
Fang Jinxue: You didn’t say that!
Xie Bailu hadn’t expected this young man in black to not only know Ling Song but also not be afraid of him, exposing his identity on the spot. Seeing the Fang brothers retreat in fear, she followed the crowd without thinking and took a step back, putting on a frightened expression.
Seeing Xie Bailu’s reaction, Xiao Cui’s expression was a little hard to describe. Why was this Miss Xie pretending not to know that madman, just like her!
But she also took a big step back with everyone else, making sure that if the madman attacked, she wouldn’t be the first to die.
Ling Song was completely unaware that he had been isolated. He still stood there leisurely, sizing up the young man in black for a few moments, and smiled. “A demon, have we met?”
The Fang brothers looked at Ling Song, then at the young man in black, and didn’t move.
Let’s put it this way, if they were standing on a single-plank bridge, with Ling Song on one side and a man-eating demon baring its fangs on the other, they would be irresponsible to themselves if they hesitated for even a second before rushing towards the demon.
The young man in black hadn’t expected Ling Song to expose his identity. His face darkened, but he didn’t say anything more, just moved away from the human cultivators, his wariness obvious.
Ling Song didn’t pay him much mind, but looked at Xie Bailu, raising an eyebrow. “Lulu, others are retreating, why are you retreating? Weren’t you calling me ‘brother’ just a few days ago? You’ve turned on me so quickly today.”
The Fang brothers and Xiao Cui were speechless. “…?!”
The young man in black silently moved away from Xie Bailu.
Xie Bailu was speechless. “…” Damn it, he’s learned to spread his own dirty rumors!